The Acid Slayer
by dariuscross
Summary: With the Heat Wave book launch just around the corner, the team at the 12 encounter a particular sadistic serial killer.
1. Chapter 1

Authors Note: It's been a while again and I apologize. I just obsess over a story till it's as close to perfect as I can get it. In this story that was hard. It was originally longer, but thanks to watching Investigation Discovery too much some chapters were far too graphic for human consumption. I tried my best to smooth everything out so it flows properly without those chapters. I hope I succeeded. As always, I love reviews :D

Disclaimer: I don't own Castle, if I did it would still be on

A teenage boy, no older than sixteen, was making his way along the sandy beach of Bora Bora, deep in thought about the trials and tribulations of his young life. He glanced over as he passed a private cabana, seeing a couple sleeping in the hammock set up in the shade. He smiled at them seeing how even in slumber one could see how much they loved one another. They both wore sunglasses, the man in a pair of cargo shorts the woman also in cargo shorts but also a tank top, her hand resting on his chest exposing the white gold wedding band to any who should pass. The young man took in how the man held her to him as they slept, so lovingly yet with a reverence that is so rarely seen in todays world. Once he was sure they were sleeping he crept over to them and picked up one of their cell phones. He silently took three photos for them and on a scrap of paper wrote "congratulations! I'm sorry to have invaded your privacy but I thought you would enjoy a photo. Again, congratulations" He left it unsigned, set it on the cell phone, then without a sound slipped away leaving the couple to sleep and enjoy they're honeymoon.

Three months earlier

It was a week before the launch of Richard Castle's newest novel Heat Wave. The media was in a frenzy, the paparazzi coming out of the woodwork like deranged cockroaches. As much as he enjoyed the attention he took solace in one of the few places they didn't dare follow, the 12th precinct. It hadn't taken long after he began following Detective Kate Beckett for the halls to become a safe haven to the author. Tho the homicide floor was a place of loss of the most horrific kind it was also a place of justice and the unrelenting drive to find it for every victim of the horrific crime called murder.

He was leaning against a window frame, watching the world outside when his partner and muse walked up to him

"You going to come help out or are you too busy staring?"

He chuckled with a smile

"Never too busy detective, I was just thinking about the difference a year makes"

he looked over at her and her puzzled expression.

"A year ago, I would have been lapping up the attention the buzz of a new book brings. Playing to the media, showing off for the paparazzi, going out of my way to generate as much publicity as I could to maximize sales"

She rolled her eyes at him but listened anyway

"Now, I'd much rather be here, eating whatever's available, drinking coffee and helping you bring peace to families and you know what?"

she raised her eyebrow at him, though surprised at his words she kept her usual expression towards him

"I wouldn't change it, for the first time in a long time I'm happy with my life instead of content and I like that"

He pushed off the window sill and left her standing at the window. Only when he was gone did she let the shock at the sincerity of his words show on her face. She turned her head and looked out at the scene he was watching outside. She expected to see paprazzi or media that would have caused him to say such things but no, it was the normal every day scene. People rushing about their normal lives, traffic moving at a snails pace along the street, pigeons lining up on a power line. She smiled a bit, she'd known for a while now that her initial perceptions of Richard Castle had been wrong, it just surprised her sometimes just how much. She shook her head and made her way over to the murder board.

The crime scene that morning had been particularly grizzly, a millionaire and his wife found on their living room floor. Bound and gagged, their abdominal cavity eaten away by a very potent acid. They'd all hoped that the acid wasn't the cause of death but they all feared that it would be, there was just too much of it. Castle was looking over what little they had on the crime, more serious than he normally would be given how close to home the victim was. With his chin in his hand he shook his head

"I knew Frank and Beverly, well a little at least. They've attended every launch party since my very first one when nobody knew me from Dick Jane or John. They were big supporters of all up and coming authors that they thought had promise. I've heard it was because their son was an aspiring author before he was killed in Afghanistan. I've never heard of them being involved in something that could get them killed like this"

Beckett, Esposito and Ryan all listened at his almost distracted informational. Beckett gave his shoulder a squeeze

"You know as well as I do Castle, sometimes we just don't know what happens behind closed doors"

He nodded slowly and stood up

"I'm no forensics expert, but it smelled like car battery acid to me"

Beckett raised her eyebrow

"Hey, I may have gotten expelled a lot but I did take basic auto in boarding school and they teach you how to check the cells to see how much is in there if it starts to act like it's wearing out"

he said indignantly. She smirked at him, though was secretly delighted to know another detail that made him just another guy.

"We'll find out for sure when Lanie gets back to us. If it was just car battery acid it'll make it harder on us, it's easier to trace large quantities of the more rare acids"

He nodded at that

"this is true, I hope that it is one of those or that if it is simple car battery acid it was ordered in quantity instead of harvested from hundreds of dead batteries"

She nodded in agreement and sat in her chair while continued to stare at the board.

Lunch time came all too quickly, when the majority of the detectives were out getting lunch he sat in his chair and looked at the detective

"you going to make the launch party next week?"

She looked over at him a moment then nodded

"That's the plan unless something truly horrific comes up"

he smiled a sincere smile at that

"I'm glad. Espo, Ryan, Lanie and Montgomery said they'll be there too"

She expected a quip to the tune of 'so you wont be alone' but it never came, which surprised her.

"I'd say you're welcome to bring your dad, but given the champagne and other alcohol will be open bar and flowing freely it might not be a good idea. He's welcome anyway, I just know that temptation is a bad thing"

She paused in her writing, noticing with ease that there was no hint of humor in his voice and that there was no joke about how her dad might disapprove of the character of Nikki Heat.

"Thanks for both inviting him and you concern Castle. I don't always show it but your consideration for Dad's... past is appreciated"

he nods to her

"you're welcome Beckett. I may not have always done the right thing with what you've told me this past year, but I do listen and take it to heart"

Her writing is still paused as she remembers how he went behind her back and investigated her mother's murder, a fact he'd learned at the same time that he had learned of her father's alcoholism. She shook it off, lifted her head and smiled

"I know you do Castle"

The silent pause afterwards one that has been occurring more often lately, a moment of understanding and friendship. She ends the pause by starting to write again. Castle stood up and grabbed his jacket

"I'll run to Remy's and get us some lunch, your usual?"

She nodded distractedly and he slipped off to get food.


	2. Chapter 2

That afternoon around three they were called down to the morgue by Lanie. When they arrived they could tell by her greenish complexion that what they feared was right

"What you got for us Lanie?"

Beckett asked as she normally did. Lanie stood up and made her way over to the body of Frank Cadell

"Well, as much as I was hoping it wouldn't be true, their cause of death was the acid"

she moved the sheet and the first thing the partners noticed was there had been more damage since they'd seen them

"As soon as I got them back to the lab I had to use a powder to neutralize the acid, that's what took me so long. I can't be as specific as I normally would on the time of death but I can estimate that it was between two and four am. How long it took them to die, that's even more difficult to determine since we don't know if the acid was put on all at once or applied in doses. Either way it took hours and was extremely painful"

Castle puffed his cheeks with a slowly exhaled breath

"even if they'd done something truly evil they didn't deserve that, no one does. Acid is slow and because of that their nerves would have registered the pain constantly. They wouldn't have been capable of passing out for more than a few seconds..."

Lanie nodded slowly

"researched this did you?"

he shook his head slowly

"no, read about a case a few years ago in a crime blog I'm a member of where an older guy had a thermos full of car battery acid thrown in his face. By the time they got him to the emergency room it had burned a half inch into his flesh. The poor guy suffered even in an induced coma for over a week before he succumbed to his injuries. Turned out a guy living across the street had hired the guy to do it because he'd locked up the gate to the hotel he ran making the guy have to walk an extra twenty feet to get to the beach"

he shook his head as the other two stared

"acid for torture for information, sure with the appropriate powders used. For the actual murder? Not unless it was poured into the ear, that would take less than five minutes to kill"

The women shuddered a bit

"the things you know Castle"

He grunted at that

"job hazard"

he said simply

They made their way back to the bullpen and continued to work the case until midnight, only to be called out to another scene two hours later. Beckett waited for Castle in the hall outside the scene, less than five minutes later he arrived and handed her a coffee

"same cause of death?"

She nodded taking a sip of coffee

"I can smell it from here"

he said sourly, she nodded at that too then led the way into the crime scene. Prepared this time Lanie had carefully applied the powder as soon as she had arrived

"What do you have for us Lanie?"

Beckett asked, Castle's stomach dropped and he answered for her

"Harold and Emily Carver... fifty six and fifty two respectively..."

They both looked at him and he closed his eyes

"Like the Cadell's, they were staunch supporters of up and coming authors and were regular attendees at my book launches"

He needed to sit but couldn't so he crouched instead and leaned against the door frame since down this low there wasn't a concern about fingerprints

"Emily used to babysit Alexis sometimes during the launches"

Lanie and Beckett looked at each other a long moment then Lanie cleared her throat

"They haven't been dead long, maybe two or three hours"

Castle nodded then stood back up and took in the scene. It was the same as the Cadell's, bound and gagged on the floor of their living room

"Did they have a child that was an aspiring writer?"

Beckett asked, Castle nodded and carefully made their way over to a bookcase before nodding to a picture

"Patricia, she was advised against getting pregnant... some medical condition, they never really said, but she wanted a family. So against the doctors orders her and her boyfriend tried and became pregnant. She died in childbirth two years ago, they were devastated but the baby survived. Little Michael, I was looking forward to their yearly gushing"

Beckett nodded and gave his shoulder a squeeze before walking over to the boys and handing out assignments.

Back at the bullpen Castle was deep in thought while Beckett updated the board. He looked over the pictures then made a decision

"This is going to be as fun as giving a lion a root canal"

He pulled out his phone and dialed causing Beckett to give him an odd look. His tone was sedated when the person answered

"Hey Gina it's Rick... yes I know what time it is... would you shut up"

he said the last very sharply stunning both Beckett and Gina on the other end

"thank you. We've had four murders in twenty four hours... Gina it was the Cadells and the Carvers"

a person could hear a pin drop on the other end of the line, when the voice came back she was definitely awake

"Gina I need you to fax or email a full list of everyone who has attended my launches for the last, lets say, five years for now... I'm at the precinct so you'd fax it here... the number is"

He stood up and looked at the paper taped to Beckett's desk then gave Gina the number.

"Thanks Gina, sorry to wake you so early but as you now know it's a bit urgent. Thank you"

He hung up and looked at Beckett

"She said the list will be here within the hour"

She nodded and looked at the board

"It's a bit early to draw conclusions but I can't fault your logic"

she said quietly. He nodded

"So far the only links we've found are that they're millionaires who attended my launches, had names that started with C and had children that had aspirations in the craft. As much as I want it to be a coincidence, you've taught me that the concept is highly unlikely"

She nodded again

"at least most of the attendees each year will be the same save a dozen or so"

He stood up and picked up their mugs

"I'll get us some coffee while we wait"

Once the fax came in the first thing they did was go through and highlight the names that weren't on all the lists, it was a shorter list than the names that attended every year. Once that was done Castle suggested they do backgrounds on everyone that started with C. Though it was one letter the list was three dozen long even with lumping the married couples into one. With the boys doing the backgrounds Castle had moved to the window and had been staring into space for over an hour before Beckett walked over to him

"Any theories?"

She said simply, not using the usual humor or sarcasm that had become their norm. He glanced over at her then back out the window

"I think it's someone on those lists, someone who is an aspiring author but Black Pawn keeps rejecting their manuscripts"

She nods slowly

"a sound theory, what about the letter C?"

he's silent for several long moments

"I think..."

he goes silent again for another long moment

"I think if we don't catch them before they get to their end game that they'll come after me"

That caused Beckett's head to snap up

"Why do you think that?"

This time he looked at her

"people from my book launches with the same letter starting their last names? It's not a leap Beckett and I hope I'm wrong. Reguardless I'm going to have mother take Alexis and check into a hotel under assumed names"

She studied him for several silent minutes, seriously not liking the fact that he's put that possibility out there

"What about you?"

He looks back at her

"I'm going to be here with you for the majority of the time"

She turned so she's fully facing him

"But you'll still have to go someplace to sleep at some point Castle"

He looks at the floor thinking a moment

"They seem to strike at night, I can go home and catch a nap in the late morning early afternoon. Never stay home past four pm"

Her eyes study his a long moment before she finally nods reluctantly, she didn't like the idea of him going home alone at all now that he's planted the idea of him being a target in her mind but she's determined to herself that it's just a theory and he's being smart about it.


	3. Chapter 3

Five days and five dead couples later it was the night of the book launch. After a lot of arguing Beckett, Esposito and Ryan had decided that going to the book launch and relaxing might just be what they needed. They'd been tunnel vision type focused on the case for a week now, perhaps a few hours of not thinking about it would help. So here Beckett was, arriving in a town car Castle had arranged for her. When the driver helped her out of the car and the media outside saw who it was the flash bulbs went off in a frenzy. She'd worn a navy blue dress that was sexy yet classy, her hair in a partial updo with some of the hair still down. She put on her press conference smile and made her way up the red carpet, not responding to the questions being asked just as Castle had suggested. She was far from comfortable with the attention, but she believed attending was the least she could do given how much help he'd been at the precinct, not that she'd ever tell him that.

Two hours into it Castle finally finished his rounds and made his way over to his friends

"Everyone having a good time?"

Esposito grinned

"We're having a great time Castle, we just met Julia Roberts!"

Castle chuckled at that

"Yeah her and her husband are fans but they don't make it to the launches too often with work and family"

Ryan chimed in

"It's amazing the people you know Castle"

Castle shrugged a little

"it has it's upsides but it's not like we hang out on Saturday night or anything"

Ryan is about to say something when the group hears a couple of women talking nearby.

"These parties are amazing for getting modeling jobs, there's so many photographers here"

the tall blonde said enthusiastically, a shorter blonde laughed softly

"yeah it is, so much better than the publicity date I went on with him. I swear for a millionaire playboy I was sorely disapointed"

The other woman snorted

"Tell me about it, all he did was talk about his kid and he didn't even put out"

The shorter woman laughed

"yeah me either, I found out all those stories in the ledger are bull. I haven't met someone who went on those publicity dates with that he's slept with yet and I've talked to a lot of women. But I suppose it's okay, I mean he's so old and he's not that great looking. He's only really good for getting your picture in the Ledger"

The other woman agreed whole heartedly then they wandered off. The group of friends looked like they were a cross of feeling sympathy for Castle and angry that the women had said such things. Castle just cleared his throat, set down his empty champagne glass and stood up

"Excuse me"

he said quietly, then walked off normal as can be getting lost in the crowd.

Beckett watched him go with a frown and a concerned gaze, listening to Esposito as he talked

"I can't believe those women, even if what they said is true this is his launch party. How could they stand there and be such ungrateful bitches?"

Montgomery looked down at his glass since the jig is up

"Because that's what they are, all of them. They walk in on his arm then once they're past the cameras they're gone. It's a part of his life that he really doesn't want people knowing"

Esposito looked shocked

"You mean they weren't just talking shit?"

Montgomery shook his head

"Nope, his reputation is as fake as their breasts but it gets his face in the ledger and that sells books. Or so says his publisher"

Esposito and Ryan shake their heads and sigh, none of them noticing that Lanie's been missing since the conversation started. Beckett set her glass down and stood up, she didn't even excuse herself she just walked into the crowd in search of her partner.

She found him a half hour later on a balcony, a half drank glass of champagne in his hands and a very vulnerable hurt look on his face. Without a word she sat next to him and wrapped her fingers around his wrist. They sat in companionable silence for a few minutes before she spoke

"I like it when you talk about Alexis, she's a great kid"

He smiled a little bit and looked over at her

"thanks"

he managed to reply, then he took a sip of champagne

"they're wrong you know. You're not old and you're quite attractive when you want to be"

he smirked a bit, surprised that Beckett of all people was saying that

"I guess that's in the eye of the beholder, I'm glad you think so"

He pulled his wrist from her grasp then gently took her hand

"Why didn't you tell us it was all fake Castle?"

He looked over at her, his eyes deeply sad

"Because you wouldn't have believed me, and don't deny it Kate... not after what you just heard"

She felt a wave a great guilt fill her as she looked down, she knew he was right

"you're right, we wouldn't have and I'm sorry that we all saw you that way when you've shown us that you're not that puffed up jackass the papers show"

He nodded a little

"It's okay Kate, you may be a detective but you're still human. You have nothing to be sorry for"

He quickly finishes his champagne and set the glass on the table

"So now you know the truth. I'm a boring, sex deprived author that would probably be unknown if his publisher didn't pimp him out on dates to make money"

She turned in her chair and rested her hand on his cheek turning his face towards her

"Rick you're more than that and you know it. You're an amazing father, a devoted son, an excellent author and a loyal friend. That's just the short list Rick. You're a good man, don't let those fake woman wannabes get to you"

He sincerely smiled at that, caught her hand that was on his cheek with his free hand and kissed it's top

"I'll try, thanks Kate"

She smiled at the kiss and blushed turning her face downward

"There's nothing to thank me for, just telling the truth"

He squeezed her hand gently and just nodded wordlessly. After a few minutes of silence Beckett leaned over and planted a tender kiss on his lips that surprised him, but he'd managed to return the chaste affection. He chose not to ask, he just went with it. Moments later she'd shifted her chair closer and was resting her head on his shoulder. He smiled wrapping his arm across her shoulders, this far beyond anything he expected with Kate Beckett but he wasn't going to jinx it. So they just sat enjoying each other's company for the rest of the night.

Inside the boys and Montgomery watched in amusement when the crowd parted revealing Dr. Lanie Parish ripping the two blondes a new ass. None of them moved a muscle while the feisty African American medical examiner unloaded an arsenal of insults and smack downs on the unsuspecting models. The only time anyone moved was when Montgomery got his jacket on, right about the same time a cat fight broke out between the three women. He checked his watch, then waited a minute. At the end of the minute security arrived dragging all three women out of the party. Montgomery nodded to the men

"I have a medical examiner to retrieve from holding once she's been processed. You boys enjoy your night"


	4. Chapter 4

When Castle and Beckett arrived at the precinct the next morning, Castle having crashed on Beckett's couch when she refused to let him go home to the loft, they were surprised to hear that Lanie had gotten herself arrested and why. To spite the situation, Castle smiled a little bit out of pure flattery that she'd do that for him. Beckett snorted a bit

"If I hadn't had more important things to attend to I'd have helped, they had it coming"

Everyone agreed with her then after a little more discussion on the matter they got back to work. Kapowski made her way over with a file once she arrived, the newest victims of their serial killer. This time the murders were much later at night, leading Castle to surmise that the killer had been at the launch. That idea had made Beckett shudder inside but she didn't say anything.

Once the board was updated, Castle was again studying the board trying to find a pattern in the murders but much like the last week he couldn't find a pattern just the links to him.

"There has to be a pattern, a reason he's killing these specific people in this specific order but I can't find it. The only thing I can find is that their names would be above mine in the phone book"

he said out of pure frustration. Beckett gave his arm a squeeze just below the elbow

"We're not finding anything either Castle, you aren't alone"

He just nodded and sighed heavily picking up the list of the previous nights attendees, it's that moment his eyes light up like a light bulb had just appeared over his head making Beckett's eyebrows go up. He grabbed his phone and rushed into the break room with the list.

"What was that about?"

Esposito asked, Beckett shook her head

"I don't know, but he lit up like he does when something strikes him so lets hope it's a lead"

He came out of the break room twenty minutes later looking triumphant

"Andrew Cummings"

Beckett waited expectantly before finally having to ask

"You going to fill us in?"

Castle blinked then shook his head at himself

"Andrew Cummings, aspiring author who has had seven manuscripts rejected. The most recent was two weeks ago"

That got Beckett's attention

"Was he at the launch?"

He nodded enthusiastically

"Yes, he's not rich but his parents are millionaires"

Beckett's eyes light up

"Millionaire parents, child that's an aspiring writer?"

Castle grinned and nodded. Beckett immediately latched onto the connection

"Esposito I want a full background on Andrew Cummings, Ryan work on getting financials and phone records"

They both don't even answer they just get to work as quickly as they can.

By eight pm they'd searched his home and office, spoken to his parents, boss and coworkers, interviewed his neighbors and issued an APB for his arrest after finding copious amounts of acid in the mans basement. Unfortunately, he was also in the wind. No one had seen him since the launch party and that made the entire team uneasy. By nine they'd done everything they could and with great reluctance Beckett stood up

"We're at a standstill guys, nothing more we can do tonight. Lets head out and get some sleep, Castle you're with me"

She pulled on her jacket and grabbed her purse. Any other case there would be wise cracks left and right about her ordering Castle to go home with her. But with this case, no one made any jokes at all. They just said their goodnights and headed out.

When they arrived at Beckett's apartment he kicked his shoes off at the door and hung up his coat

"I hope someone catches him tonight now that we know for sure who he is"

Beckett nodded hanging her jacket up after him

"I hope so too, this entire case just needs to be over. Sixteen people have died in one of the cruelest ways imaginable"

The words left heavy in the air being 'not to mention the threat to Castle himself' She gave his arm a pat and motioned to the couch

"go sit down Castle, I'll see if I have anything edible laying around"

Castle chuckled, she'd said the same thing a few days ago but he kept his mouth shut and walked over to the couch. A few minutes later he listened as she ordered some pizza to be delivered then looked up when she rounded the couch with a few beers

"Pizza will be here in a half hour give or take"

he took a beer from her and smiled

"Thanks"

They were both quiet through dinner, each lost in their own thoughts about the case and how Cummings had gone about it. After dinner Castle set his empty beer bottle down and looked at Beckett

"alright, it's time that both of us stop thinking about the case and start thinking of other things"

Beckett took the last drink from her own beer and set it down

"alright, what should we talk about?"

She raised her brow at him, he smiled and shook his head a little as he scooted closer to her. He watched as her eyes darkened as she caught on to his idea. He raised his hand and caressed her cheek a long moment before he leaned in and pressed his lips to hers. It was sweet and tender just as hers had been the night before. Only this time it wasn't short and it didn't stay chaste. Within moments the kiss had moved far beyond chaste as their tongues danced while their kiss stayed slow and passionate. Beckett's eyes closed, feeling far more than she ever thought she could for this man. It was this moment that she realized that she would marry this man, he was her one and done. Then with another pass of his tongue she also realized that they wouldn't be getting very much sleep tonight, if any at all. Her mind decided, she broke the kiss and pushed him onto his back on the couch. She grinned wickedly at him then almost literally pounced.

The next morning they were laying in her bed, though neither could say when they'd managed to get there. She was draped across his chest with his arm around her, her fingers drawing light patterns on his skin. They'd been silently cuddling for more than an hour now so her mind had all the time it wanted to go over the various ways this morning could go. She finally spoke up

"Rick?"

he let out a questioning 'hmm?' as he adjusted and looked at her

"you're in this right? It's not... it's not a fling is it?"

Castle shook his head and kissed the top of her head

"as you heard at the launch party, I'm not really like that Kate. I'm in this, attached to you until you shoot me off"

She smirked at that and kissed his chest softly

"I'm scared... but I'm in this too Rick. Just no PDA's at the precinct or at crime scenes got it?"

he nodded

"fair enough"


	5. Chapter 5

An hour later they were parked a block from the shop Castle got their coffee every morning

"It's not his hunting hours Kate, I'll be back in a jiffy"

he gave her a quick kiss then jumped out of the cruiser and walked briskly down the sidewalk. After ten minutes she started to worry but decided to give him another five just in case he ran into a fan who wanted an autograph or something. When those minutes passed she was out of the cruiser and jogging down the sidewalk. She stopped dead in her tracks as her eyes fell upon the sidewalk. In front of her was two dropped coffees, one of Castle's shoes and a small amount of blood. Cummings had Castle

Within a half hour traffic was being rerouted, interviews were being done, surveillance footage obtained, but all Beckett could hear was the words spoken by a regular. Castle had stopped a moment to ask how his sons algebra final had gone and shared a moment of fatherly pride with the man. He had turned to walk back to the cruiser when a black van stopped dead in the street, a man popped out the sliding door and hit Castle with a baseball bat, then drug him to the van. The man said he tried to rush over but the arthritis in his knee just wouldn't let him. He did have a description and a partial license number though.

She was sitting as far from the front window as she could while all this was happening, her elbow on a table with the bridge of her nose between her fingers. She didn't need to look up to know who it was when someone sat next to her. Only Lanie would dare approach her right now

"It's not your fault Kate"

Beckett snorted weakly

"I let him out of my sight Lanie, I swore to myself that I wouldn't and then I did. God knows what this maniac is going to do to him because of it"

Lanie grabbed Beckett's free hand

"and how do you know he wouldn't have just bashed your head with the bat too? It's broad daylight Kate, this guy has always struck at night. Stop blaming yourself and start thinking of ways to find Castle"

Beckett took a deep breath, still blaming herself but not letting on she let the breath out

"His phone if it's still on, traffic cams, same as always"

Lanie nodded

"That's right Kate. The guy messed up this time, dozens of witnesses and in broad daylight where he could be recognized. You'll find him Kate, both the perp and Castle"

Beckett looked sidelong at her friend, her voice quiet

"I just hope it's in time Lanie"

Lanie's eyes echoed her words but the woman just gave Beckett's hand another good squeeze.

Hours later Castle came to with a crushing headache, he groaned a bit but opened his eyes. The first thing he noticed was that he was in his boxers, the second that he was handcuffed in a seated position against a wall, third the man they had been hunting was sitting not fifteen feet away going through his wallet. His stomach rolled when he saw that he was looking at a picture of Alexis. Cummings seemed to know that he had woken up because he held the picture up

"She planning on following in daddy's footsteps Ricky?"

Castle argued with himself about answering then decided if he played along then maybe just maybe he can hold the psychopath off till Beckett can find him.

"No, she enjoys writing the odd story for school but she's more interested in being either a detective or a medical examiner"

Cummings made a 'hmm' sound and nodded

"Given the books you've written her entire life it's not shocking that she'd be interested in either of those"

Castle nodded silently then cleared his throat

"What's this about Andrew? I've never hurt you, never read one of your manuscripts, I don't know your parents. Why?"

Cummings shook his head slowly

"They already have a star mystery writer, without you maybe they'd see my genius!"

Castle blinked a few times, was this guy serious?

Castle took a minute to let Cummings words sink in before he spoke again

"Andrew that's not how it works. Black Pawn wouldn't care if they had a hundred murder mystery authors on their books so long as they brought in money. I'm not saying you're a bad writer, I've never read your manuscripts. But it may just be a matter of refinement, you don't have to do this. I'd be happy to take a look at one if you'd like"

he said in a calm conversational manner even though inside he's completely freaking out.

"and what do you call refinement Ricky?"

his eyes were cold as ice as he glared at Castle

"It's usually not much really. A little more detail of a scene, a little more meat in character conversation, making a fight scene just a little longer, keeping the reader in suspense for another page or two. You wouldn't believe how much I have to refine with every book before it meets standards Andrew. If I were at home I could show you first drafts that have more red sharpie on them than black ink"

Cummings narrows his eyes at him, but says nothing more. He just stands up and walks out of the room.

With Cummings out of the room he looks around where he's at. It's clearly a warehouse of some kind, but not very big. He checks how secure the cuffs are but is dismayed to find that there's no wiggle room. He looks back up when he hears the door open and sees Cummings reenter the room. In one hand he has a paper bag, the other needle nose pliers. He drops both next to Castle then picks up some leg irons

"I think it's time we start Ricky, lots to do and so little time before your friends find you"

He shackled each of Castle's legs so that they're so taught he couldn't even begin to move, then came the part that filled Castle with dread. Cummings wrapped a noose around his neck then threw it over a beam before tightening it so that Castle could breathe but if he moved that could change fast.

Once secured Cummings crouched over Castle's legs and smirked

"First, lets see about shutting you up"

Castle's eyes widen a bit, then a bit more when he sees Cummings pull a thin nail from the bag. He doesn't even get time to think before the man stabs it through the center of his upper lip making him scream out, then again when he forced the same nail through his bottom lip. The last thing he does with the first nail is use the pliers to bend the nail so Castle's lips are tightly sealed. He smirks at Castle

"much better, but we're not done yet"

Twenty minutes later Castles mouth is literally nailed shut from corner to corner with blood dripping off his chin and down his chest. Cummings laughs

"Not chatty now are you Ricky?"

Castle manages a glare, especially when the man picks up Castles phone. Castle decides the man is clearly not tech savvy cause he takes two pictures, one from afar showing the entirety of Castle's ordeal, the other a close view of his face. Castle can hear each picture being sent. In his mind he smiles.


	6. Chapter 6

In the hours since Castles abduction Beckett and the team haven't stopped moving for longer than it takes to use the bathroom. Ryan and Esposito are working their fingers to the bone going through traffic cam footage trying to track the black van while Beckett scoured Cummings phone records from the previous fourty-eight hours trying to find something, anything, that could lead them to where he's holding Castle. She nearly jumps through the celing when her cell phone goes off. She looks at who it's from and gasps

"Guys it's from Castle's phone, track it now!"

The boys rapidly change gears as she opens the first picture, the close up. Her professional demeaner crumbling as she cries out, drops the phone on her desk, then walks into one of the observation rooms with her hand over her mouth. Montgomery is the one to react first as he rushes to her desk and picks up her phone. Even the vetran cop turns more than slightly green as he carries it over to the worried boys. His voice is quiet as he shows them the picture

"Get Dr. Parish up here for Beckett and get these pictures traced. Castle doesn't have long"

Both men stare at the picture in horror then nod. Sure there were times they wanted Castle to shut up, but not like that... never like that. While Esposito texted Lanie, Ryan kept working on the trace.

A few minutes later Lanie arrived and Montgomery filled her in, including showing her the two photos. Lanie had to cover her mouth with her hand, a few tears of her own escaping. After a minute she finally asked, her voice hoarse

"Where is she?"

Montgomery motioned to the door Beckett dissapeared through, she was on her way before his finger was fully extended. Inside she found Beckett on the floor in the corner, her legs pulled up tight to her chest as she sobbed into her knees. The scene broke Lanie's heart for a second time in as many minutes. She moved over to her friends side and slid down to her knees next to her, her voice soft

"Hey, as awful as that picture is, what's been done isn't lethal. The boys are working the trace, you'll be on the road getting your man back soon Kate"

Beckett sniffled and forced a deep breath into her lungs

"Lanie... I can't imagine the pain he's in..."

Lanie stopped her

"Kate, it's no worse than if he'd gotten his lips pierced. It'll hurt for a while then stop okay?"

Unfortunately Lanie isn't sure if she's lying or not, but she's convincing enough. She reaches up and gets a box of kleenex off the table then starts cleaning Beckett up

"What you need to do now is put Kate away, there will be time for her later. Castle needs you to be Detective Beckett right now. Strong as steel and badass, can you do that for him?"

Beckett stares at Lanie for a moment, her eyes and face visably shifting as her mind starts to get locked down. After a minute she nods and Lanie helps her to her feet.

A little more cleanup and Beckett strides into the bullpen

"You got a location Ryan?"

He looks up, relieved to see her

"Just getting the address now"

She looks at it and nods

"Alright all teams go, this is one of our own so lets bring him back alive!"

In that moment the bullpen came to life as teams got ready in a flash. Beckett stopped only for her phone and her jacket then was in the elevator to go, the sorrow that was in her eyes replaced with a blinding fury. She wasn't going to fail Castle again.

In the warehouse Castles situation hadn't gotten any better, in fact it had gotten worse. He screamed as much as he could as Cummings put nails through his skin sideways like one would pin fabric. He was using varying sizes of nails, making sure to bend each one so they wouldn't come out easily. He'd already got from ankle to his boxers line on the right leg and was almost done with the left. Castles eyes were blurry from the pain he was in but he was refusing to pass out even though his body wanted him to badly. His face was soaked in tears that made his captor laugh

"Aw Ricky, am I hurting you? Don't worry, when I'm done I'll make sure the pain stops. It'd be over by now if your friends hadn't taken my acid, so now I have to improvise"

Castle doesn't even turn his eyes on the man, in his mind he just keeps imagining Beckett coming through the door in front of him. It's the only hope he has left


	7. Chapter 7

The units converge on the small warehouse an hour and a half later in silent mode. No lights, no sirens. Even though it pains Beckett to not just rush in she converges with the team and the other teams spending twenty minutes going over blue prints and pinpointing where Castle is based off the light coming from a window. Together they work out their entry one door at a time until there is no variable left unattended to. They all turn to the warehouse. They're ready, they all are. No one messes with their writer.

Their entry is as silent as their arrival as each team works their way into the building following their assigned path. Beckett leads Ryan and Esposito as they wind their way through the corridors until they at last stand outside the door that has Castle behind it. The trio leans in to listen to what's going on inside the room.

Cummings finishes the last nail, Castle arms legs and torso all covered in nails

"My my Ricky, you'll never get through a metal detector looking like that"

Cummings tsked as he walked over to the rope and tightened it so that Castle was fighting for air

"it's not as slow as acid, but it should be fun anyway"

His hand still on the rope Beckett and the team rush through the door, guns drawn. Cummings smirks at them

"I wouldn't shoot if I were you, it would be so terrible if my dead weight caused the rope to pull tighter suddenly. Ricky here might lose his head"

Beckett is making a discernible effort to NOT look at Castle, her eyes focused on Cummings

"You're out of luck Cummings, walk away from Castle and put your hands above your head"

Esposito said coldly making Cummings smirk at him

"Why would I do that when I have the advantage?"

Espositos eyes narrow, then he takes aim and in a series of three rapid shots the rope severs allowing Castle to gasp for air and leaving Cummings standing there looking stupid

"You're not much of a criminal mastermind when you have to wing it Cummings"

Esposito spat. Cummings looked at the limp rope in his hand, defeated he raises his hands and Ryan takes him into custody.

Beckett, who hadn't said a word since they entered, holstered her weapon then finally looked at Castle. The tears were immediate as she moved over and knelt next to him, her fingers hovering over his chest of nails before she rested her hand on his cheek

"It's over, we're going to get you help now"

he nodded just a little, his eyes grateful but pained. Beckett checked how his hands were affixed then unlocked the cuffs, the boys getting the shackles. Once freed the only sounds in the room were Beckett's whispers into Castles ears to keep him awake, her hand stroking his cheek, forehead, hair, anything to keep him calm and distracted. When the paramedics arrived they were at a loss, there was nothing they could really do on the scene, they couldn't even put an IV in. So with everyone's help they gingerly lifted Castle from the floor to a stretcher then rushed out of the building, Beckett hot on their heels.

Forty five minutes later the team stood in surgical observation along with Montgomery and Lanie watching as the surgeons carefully used cutters to snip the heads of each nail and gently draw them from the skin, then laying them out in order for evidence. The process taking three hours as they're a lot more careful taking them out as Cummings was putting them in. Once finished Castle looked like he had a severe case of the chicken pox he had so many holes in him that at a distance just looked like red dots. One of the surgeons returned with a large bottle of brown fluid, Lanie explained that it'd be the surgical antiseptic betadine as the doctor started to slowly pour it over Castle's numerous injuries. A few nurses coming in a few minutes later when the doctor finishes, with looks of sympathy to the sleeping patient they start to wrap his legs, arms and torso in gauze wrap and coban leaving only his lips open to the air, but there isn't much they can do for them.

At long last he was in a room receiving IV fluids and a unit of blood to compensate for what was lost. Everyone found a seat in the room and sat down to wait for their friend to wake up. It wasn't until early morning that Castle started to stir, he groaned and flopped his head around a bit before opening his eyes and blinking. He remembered everything, he wished he didn't but he did. His eyes flicker around the room seeing who all is there before stopping on Beckett. He's sore but not unbearably so he moves his hand over hers and squeezes causing her face to jerk up from where she was staring at the floor. He licked his lips a few times

"I guess I was longer than a jiffy wasn't I?"

Beckett let out a half sob half laugh then leaned over and kissed his cheek

"A little bit, but you're going to be okay. By some miracle he didn't get anything but skin"

She smoothed his hair back from his forehead

"a few days in here to make sure nothing unforeseen happens then you can go home"

He manages a tiny smile at that, though it hurts, then looks around at everyone else as they make their way over.

In the end during his twelve hour confession Cummings had detailed every step of the acid slayings. On top of that he had confessed to an additional thirteen murders. Each of his seven manuscripts were not works of fiction, they were his real life accounts of his crimes. Through reading them it was clear that he was definitely a sociopath. He had no remorse for what he had done, no emotion other than anger that Black Pawn had refused to publish his manuscripts. By the time he was taken to booking and then ad seg to keep him away from the other prisoners the team had decided that life in prison, death penalty, there was no punishment that would be severe enough for Cummings. He got life in prison without the possibility of parole and was confined to solitary.


	8. Chapter 8

It was a month before the last of the scabs had fallen off, in that time Beckett had gone from only staying over occasionally to practically living with him. They both had nightmares about the ordeal between what had happened to him and what had been done to the others. They both still went to the precinct every day though, Castle starting a week after his ordeal. Beckett was worried about him returning so soon but he said it was therapeutic to get the bad guys so she let him have it. In the end he was right, each time they caught a killer his nightmares became less and less until two months after the murders had first started they were rare occurrences as were Becketts.

They were all sitting in the break room, Lanie included, enjoying a nice lunch of Chinese and coffee when Castle chose to make his big move. He slid off his chair carefully and knelt in front of Beckett, whose eyes went wide as the room went silent. Castle cleared his throat

"Kate... I know we haven't been dating long but in someways it feels like we've been together forever. I know I have two failed marriages behind me, but I also know why they failed. None of them were you"

He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled a ring box out, then opened it displaying a two carat diamond in a modest but intricately decorated platinum band

"I love you, Katherine Beckett. Will you marry me?"

Beckett dropped her carton onto the table the moment he started talking, her eyes getting misty when he pulls out the ring. She knows all eyes are on her now but the only eyes she cares about are in front of her. After a moment to swallow an emotional lump from her throat she nodded repeatedly, her voice filled with joy

"Yes, yes I will marry you"

Castle's grin couldn't get any bigger if he tried as he slid the ring on her finger then caught her as she slid out of her chair into his arms hugging her close. They barely registers the cheers from everyone else, all that existed in that moment was them and they wouldn't have it any other way.

Two weeks later, following an intimate wedding at his beach house in the Hamptons, they walk hand in hand down the sands of Bora Bora. The weather is glorious, the waters calm and beautiful, the sand warm under their bare feet. They stop in front of their private cabana and wrap their arms around each other but far enough back to talk. Castle smiles adoringly

"So Mrs. Castle, how does it feel?"

Beckett tipped her head in thought

"being married to you? being so in love that I feel drunk with it? To steal from your book of words, I feel extraordinary"

He grins at that and draws her into a tender kiss that lasts only a few moments

"Come on, the hammock is calling for us"

He walks over with her and gets himself in first, then helps her in with him so she's laid atop him. Once they get settled with his arms lovingly around her, he speaks softly to her

"I love you Mrs. Castle"

Beckett smiles and kisses his chest

"I love you too Mr. Castle"

Neither could feel more happy if they tried as they closed their eyes and drifted to sleep with ease in their own private paradise.


End file.
